PHISH, FRIDAY 04/19/2024
SPHERE
Las Vegas, NV

SET 1:

Free: Cool how they coordinated the pre-show music of a Free jam and then they use that as a launching pad to open with Free. The pace of this one is a good bit faster than most. Like it. Nice peak. Great start to the show! Broadway Trey on full display. Feeeeeee – eeeeeeeeeeel – lllllllll!!!!!!

The Moma Dance: Standard.

Axilla (Part II) Wow, really good stuff. Fairly mellow and introspective until we hit the 12 minute mark give or take. From there things get decidedly more upbeat. Three minutes later, Trey is trilling like mad. Nice peak. Would recommend!

mercy: Standard.

Bathtub Gin: Page goes off on the baby grand in the composed section throwing Trey off. Trey gets a good laugh out of it “Thank you!” This version is played at a break neck pace with plenty of velocity. Fun, quirky ending (Trey sounds like a late 80’s Jerry).

Theme From the Bottom: This one in the early going is inclined to go major mode, but they tamp down that urge thankfully. So glad they did because what happens next is excellent Phish. Nice hard edge to it with a very clean Trey solo. Really enjoyed listening to this one! Would recommend. >

Split Open and Melt: Bleep, bloop, blop. Had to be there’d.

SET 2:

A Wave of Hope: Love, love this jam through about the 14 minute mark. The last 4 minutes or so is your canned MSG bliss jam that we have heard seemingly 100’s of times since 2017. Too bad they opted for that crutch.

What's the Use? Standard. >

Ruby Waves: Soliciting woos, oof.

Lonely Trip: Standard.

A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing: Good, compact jam, nicely done! ->

Prince Caspian: Standard.

You Enjoy Myself: Trey struggles in the intro. Page bringing the funk! Would have loved to get down to that. Treys tone coming out of that was yikes, very abrasive. He fixed it soon enough though. Trey went to end this one and everyone kept going, lol. Awesome! Nicely raged YEM jam! Would recommend this version, man – can’t remember the last 3.0 version I felt this good about. It is quite short though.

ENCORE:

Wading in the Velvet Sea: Reworked intro to work with the visuals? I would assume so. It’s nice though. Nice to hear Page and Trey riffing off one another, that was cool.

Harry Hood: Nice interplay in the intro between Mike and Trey. During the jam, Trey and Page play off one another magnificently. Trey really picks his way through this jam effortlessly, beautiful! Big, ol beautiful peak. Damn! Easy all timer and highly, highly recommended. Cannot believe they can play at this level at this age. Incredible. We truly are lucky!

Summary: Review is purely based on the music, not on the visuals. That Hood is just peak Phish man, just blown away sitting here listening to it. Three other solid highlights. The flow in this show really works for me to. This might be strong but 4.3/5 seems right. I am probably over rating it but the way this show ended (YEM, Wading, Hood) very much captivated me. I now have reverse FOMO for this show, ugh. Phish RULES.

Replay Value: Axilla (Part II), Theme From the Bottom, You Enjoy Myself, Harry Hood

The band took the stage while pre-show music similar to a Free jam played, which continued until they began the song and waterfalls of colored light suddenly cascaded from the top of the dome. During Moma, a moving, 360-degree live shot of the crowd and band was displayed, with psychedelic colors and effects. During mercy, the dome displayed an overhead view of a sparkling ocean, with small birds in pastel colors flying over the water. During Gin, the entire dome became an overhead view of a large wave pool, filled with hundreds of people on food-shaped inflatables drifting and spinning. During the Gin jam, the images of the bathers became blurred and abstract, forming a neon kaleidoscope effect. During Theme, the entire dome became an underwater seascape, with kelp forest, fish, human swimmers, and light from the surface shining down from the top. Theme also contained a DEG tease from Trey. At the start of ASIHTOS, eight jellyfish puppets were raised on each side of the stage, while the dome remained dark. Once the jam began, the light on the dome came up to reveal another underwater seascape, whose plants and fish became luminous as the rest of the light dimmed again. During Caspian, this seascape changed to a view from within the columns and arches of a sunken monument. As YEM began, the entire dome became the view from inside of a car as it entered a "Tunnel of Luv" car wash, with the stage appearing to sit on top of the middle of the dashboard. The car progressed through the wash as YEM continued, with Trey's solo during the wax and wheel scrub, and the bass and drums as the car was dried and exited the wash. Suddenly the car view was gone, and it appeared that the dome was clear, with a puppy licking it from the outside, in slow-motion, for the duration of the vocal jam. During Velvet Sea, the dome appeared to be covered in flowing red velvet, with photographs of the band throughout the years appearing and disappearing among the fabric. By the end of the song, the entire dome was covered in photos. Trey teased The Secret of Life (The Dead Milkmen) in Hood. This show was connected to the other three with each night's setlist tied into a state of matter. This performance's matter type was liquid.
TEASES
Dave's Energy Guide tease in Theme From the Bottom, The Secret of Life tease in Harry Hood